Technical Analyst Sees Apple Headed to $700

Apple Inc.'s breakout above $600 a share has piqued the interest of bullish chart watchers, with Oppenheimer’s head technician Ari Wald suggesting a return to record highs — about 16% above current levels — may be on the horizon.

Bloomberg News

The stock yesterday closed at $604.59, its highest level since October 2012. Shares were up again slightly in morning trading Tuesday, to $604.78. The stock has now gained about 15% since Apple reported fiscal second-quarter results about announced an unusual 7-for-1 stock split on April 23.

Apple’s rise above resistance at $600 — the stock had peaked briefly around that level earlier this month — leaves the path pretty clear from a technical-analysis standpoint until the next resistance at the $650 pivot level, Mr. Wald said. That price, about 7.5% above current levels, acted as both strong resistance and key support from April through September of 2012.

That was before the stock’s drop below $650 in October 2012 helped kick off a bear market in the shares that took Apple down as much as 44% to its April 2013 closing low of $390.53.

Above $650, the next key chart point to watch is the Sept. 19, 2012 record closing high of $702.10, Mr. Wald said, which is 16% above current levels.

“I’m playing for a test of its all-time high around $700,” Mr. Wald said. “Once you get to new highs, you reevaluate.”

Mr. Wald’s conclusions are derived from technical analysis, which uses patterns in stock-price charts to help illustrate market sentiment and make investment decisions. It differs from “fundamental” analysis, which looks at the economics and finances of industries and companies.